Business travel

The way to go in Johannesburg

THIS week’s business.view points out that “business in large parts of Africa is booming like never before”. So there's no time like the present to brush up on your knowledge of what to expect—and how to behave—in Johannesburg, South Africa's business capital. Read our tips below (part of a larger series), then please add your own.

Working habits

• Firms are expected to make their workforces “demographically representative” at all levels, from the shopfloor to the boardroom. Since black education was deliberately neglected under apartheid, this is no easy task. Companies doing business with the government must demonstrate that they are doing their bit for “black economic empowerment” (BEE), which is measured, among other things, by whether they are part-owned by “previously disadvantaged” people, ie non-white South Africans. BEE is also keeping an eye on gender, so black women are in high demand in boardrooms and management positions.

• BEE feeds an army of lawyers and consultants who advise companies on how to address it. The exercise, meant to redress the injustices of apartheid, is increasingly perceived as benefiting a small number of well-connected individuals. The debate now revolves around how to make BEE more “broad-based”. Expect the issue to be discussed in business meetings and to influence business decisions.

• Despite the above, most South Africans are quite relaxed about race, and only rabid racists or the socially inept risk offending someone. Terms such as “Blacks”, “Indians”, “Coloureds” and “Whites” are commonly used and not considered offensive. The term “African” is sometimes used to mean black South Africans, although some whites object to the implication that they are not Africans, too.

Meetings

• South Africans are early risers—and punctual. Office hours are generally Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, and business breakfasts at the crack of dawn are common. It’s not unusual for people to slink off early on a Friday afternoon. Between mid-December and mid-January, many businesses and restaurants close for a combined summer and Christmas holiday.

• Although there are 11 official languages in South Africa, English can be used in almost all circumstances.

• Traffic on Johannesburg’s highways and main arteries can be brutal at rush hour (7-8.30am and 4.30-6pm). Plan for extra time if you are travelling to business areas such as Sandton, Illovo, Rosebank and downtown during these times.

• Visitors with business both in Johannesburg (the country’s commercial hub) and Pretoria (its political one) will have to drive between the two cities. Be warned that the highway gets congested, even outside rush hour. Rush hour can easily double the time of a commute.

• The car is king in sprawling Johannesburg. Public transport is not an option for visitors. Don’t expect to find taxis roaming the streets: they must be booked in advance.

• Alcohol at business lunches is fast disappearing, as are suits and ties. Smart, casual attire has become acceptable for most business meetings.

Off duty

• The city’s cheerleaders maintain it is South Africa’s friendliest and most cosmopolitan city (far friendlier than Cape Town), and you should find most Jo’burgers laid-back and good company.

• South Africa is an overwhelmingly sporty country. Businessmen enjoy getting to know each other over beer and rugby, or in a corporate box at a cricket match. It is worth brushing up on the latest triumph or failure of the Springboks. Some white South Africans are trying to learn more about football (soccer), a traditionally black sport, as the country will host the World Cup in 2010.

• Those travelling alone should take extra care against crime, especially if walking around. Don’t be paranoid—many people travel, drive and dine alone in Johannesburg—just be vigilant. Safety considerations do not mean that you have to stay in Sandton (unless you like giant malls and office blocks). For livelier street life, Melville is a good option.

Readers' comments

Yes; Cape Town is less friendly than Johannesburg; it has been said 'if you didn't go to school with them don't even try to do business with them.I think perhaps B-Limey means to say 'people from Lebanon were Blanke/European'. In Afrikaans, Blanke=white.sherifoot

These are my main impressions of Jo'burg from a number of visits there, all for business.
It is supposedly also called Egoli (city of gold) but I never actually heard anybody call it that.
In it's general low-rise endless, featureless, motorway-crossed suburban sprawl, white flight from downtown and general racial segregation, Jo'burg feels quite like midwest American cities. Indeed it is uncannily reminiscent of Detroit in particular (though I do like it much better than that depressing vision of the future). The biting winter winds (NB remember during Northern hemispere summer so bring a big coat) as well as sweltering summer spells deepen the similarity.
In the occasional startling juxtaposition of first and third worlds it is also reminiscent of say, Sao Paolo (without the joie de vivre).
Business dress is mostly fairly casual (though perhaps a bit less so than in other centres like Durban). Businesses in my experience tend either to be dominated mostly by Afrikaaners or by English whites, not often a mixture. Blacks are still the exception except in government-related enterprises. Although people do not speak of race issues normally, there are so many codes, nods and winks that you would have to be deaf and blind to miss them e.g. endless griping about crime. Locals may try to deny it but it is an absolute reality. If you get to know them or socialise with them you may find them opening up about their prejudices more than you would really prefer.
Off-duty, the Apartheid museum is very much worth a visit, especially as so much of the history is very recent and it was a unique experience for me to compare the accounts of incidents with my own memories of them. There are lots of little things that will abide - for me it was the video of Steve Biko, still absolutely mesmerising.
Soweto is also very nice, road upon road of pastel-painted houses with neat gardens, at least as long as you avoid the squatter camps around the outskirts. The Hector Pietersen museam and Nelson Mandela house are worth a visit as are many of the well-known bars and restaurants, generally pleasant and welcoming. If you are really lucky (as i was), you may get invited to a friend's family home for a braai.
Sandton is pleasant but fairly standard shopping-mall territory.
Downtown is worth a drive-through and parts are being revived quite nicely (Market Theatre area in particular).
If you have a whole afternoon, you could drive to Pretoria which is worth seeing but not worth much of an affort in fairness. A typical purpose-built capital: lots of imposing municipal buildings and slightly odd road layout. On a busy traffic day, I probably wouldn't bother!
Jo'burg is definitely the most happening city in RSA, especially for the creative industries but it is not quite as cool as it thinks it is. And (speaking as a former resident of West Africa), it is not really Africa.

Umm, Ulrich123, not quite right. Under the Apartheid classification there were umpteen subclassifications for "Coloureds" including the pre-Bantu peoples (Khoi, San, Griquas...); descendants of the slaves from Batavia (Sumatra) most of whom live in Cape Town; people of Arab descent (like one chap who worked for me), but not those from Lebanon who were "Blank/European"; Chinese, but Japanese were "honourary Whites"; my buddy's lovely "Indian"-"White" girlfriend; and so on - including your "mixed white and black", Ulrich123.A Rainbow Nation indeed!

"Although people do not speak of race issues normally, there are so many codes, nods and winks that you would have to be deaf and blind to miss them e.g. endless griping about crime. Locals may try to deny it but it is an absolute reality. If you get to know them or socialise with them you may find them opening up about their prejudices more than you would really prefer".A bit like Sao Paulo, again. Maybe it is not as harsh and crude as in JBurg, but the underlying prejudice is there.

I thought the people who Gulliver indicates as "Indians" were actually referred to as "Asians." And Southern Asian slave descendents, along with mixed-race, were "Coloureds," but Africans (Blacks) were a completely different and seperate social division from Coloureds.

I always got the impression that the Coloureds were the cool and funky progressive troublemaking styling hood on the scene, while the Blacks & Whites & Asians kept all seperate and stodgy and old-fashioned (especially the Whites and Blacks).